Boston-Montréal overnight

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Long day trains between two important endpoints are very unappealing. But night trains have proven their popularity time and time again.
And yes, I do understand that it often is about connecting small communities, but since our rail system is soo slow to begin with, it makes sense to try to have as many night trains as possible.

Another reason why I can't understand why we don't have more sleepers/at least place an order.
Between ordering 100 sleeper cars and financing higher speed tracks, one is cheaper than the other.

What about splitting the train in Springfield? I'm not sure if Springfield has the infrastructure to do that, but it avoids the slow trip through the Berkshires to get to Boston.
Agreed! Hadn't thought of that. There certainly is enough un-utilized space to make it happen.
 
Saw that today. For a proposal with limited potential this one is garnering far more attention than expected.
Agreed.
I see far more potential in a night Montreal - Boston SS/NYP train than this one.
That said, this has been a dream train of mine for quite some time; this proposal, and the reaction to it is garnering far more attention that I think any of us thought it would.
 
Long day trains between two important endpoints are very unappealing. But night trains have proven their popularity time and time again.
And yes, I do understand that it often is about connecting small communities, but since our rail system is soo slow to begin with, it makes sense to try to have as many night trains as possible.

Another reason why I can't understand why we don't have more sleepers/at least place an order.
Between ordering 100 sleeper cars and financing higher speed tracks, one is cheaper than the other.


Agreed! Hadn't thought of that. There certainly is enough un-utilized space to make it happen.
The other advantage to overnight on this run is that the Boston-Portland and Sherbrooke-Montreal sections are likely to be "daylight" sections in both directions, so you'd pick up a decent slug of traffic on each end. A situation where your average through train has, say, 150 pax going close to end-to-end but you add 100-200 pax on each end isn't utterly implausible as long as the train is "reliable enough".

That being said, the "long daylight run" question really comes down to "how long?" At 14 hours (with nothing major in the middle), I agree this routing would need to be overnight. A bit lower (or with a significant intermediate destinations) starts changing the picture a bit, especially if the scenery is nice.

One thing I'll lament - it's a pity that the line through Conway/Bretton Woods isn't a viable option, since that line would probably kick out a good amount of seasonal traffic for a daylight run, and it could still join up with the line through Sherbrooke. I'm guessing that the condition of most of the line is sufficiently bad to make that a non-starter, however.
Agreed.
I see far more potential in a night Montreal - Boston SS/NYP train than this one.
That said, this has been a dream train of mine for quite some time; this proposal, and the reaction to it is garnering far more attention that I think any of us thought it would.
That's basically adding a split to the old Montrealer. I wonder if MA could snag the section of track from Springfield to Worcester (or alternatively, Fitchburg-Greenfield and split in Greenfield) since that would notionally put everything "before" the split northbound under agency control of some sort or another (well, as long as the train doesn't go past...I was gonna say WAS, but you could extend to RVR right now and CLT once a certain segment is done, and still be in state/agency-owned territory). MNRR isn't always a "good host", but if there's some way to get CT to "buy in" you could probably get them to be a "not bad host". Vermont, on the other hand, might buy in to a revived Montrealer-ish timetable that goes down to DC so long as they don't have to pick up all of the cost...but having a direct train to Boston (versus a messy transfer at Springfield) wouldn't hurt them.

And yes, I think this is by far the "easier" option to put on the table.
 
Saw that today. For a proposal with limited potential this one is garnering far more attention than expected.

Well into the '90s Delta had numerous flights daily from Logan to Dorval and Vermont Transit offered decent bus service.

Today only Air Canada flies the route and the fares are excessive. Greyhound only runs 1 bus a day in both directions.
Westjet had plans to fly between Boston and Montreal but the pandemic scuttled that.

Megabus Canada refuses to run a bus to Burlington, VT to connect with service to Boston.

Even the highway corridor between the 2 cities is something out of a Marx Brothers movie.

Quebec Autoroute A-35 was supposed to connect with Vermont's Interstate 89 in 1967

https://globalnews.ca/news/9014864/transports-quebec-a35-construction/
 
I won't presume to favor a route, but from work that I've done on western routes it seems that there are customers in the rural areas who would use a service in the middle of the night as a means of getting into metropolitan destinations for a daytime appointment or connections. With a daylight train, it takes a two-night stay in the big city to accomplish the same purpose, possibly including big city hotel prices.

Of course, the schedule adherence needs to be good. Getting out to catch a train in the wee hours is no fun if it's running late and later.

In respect to Tlcoopers comment above, this past Thursday at a men's night dinner for my church a guy in his late 40's talked about how he had ridden Amtrak from Denver to Sacramento this summer. I held my breath, but he only had positive comments. This triggered a discussion favoring improvements, more routes, etc. For the first time in my life in a cross-section group like that I kept my mouth shut and just enjoyed the conversation.
 
There does not seem to be equipment availabl for several years. However, given equipment availability a quick start up might be a train from Portland - BON - Palmer- to MTR. But just do not believe there wold be enough potential rideers.
 
I do think a Montreal-Boston overnight routing through White River Junction and Greenfield or Springfield (or Millers Falls or Palmer) probably makes more sense than the route proposed here, if only because the border crossing would be closer to Montreal and therefore at more palatable hours in both directions. Unless of course the customs inspection can be completed at that new facility that was promised for Montreal.
 
IF (and that's a big one) there is sufficient impetus to restore Montreal - Sherbrooke on the Canadian side, particularly with the Government of Quebec onboard, the discussed route might be an ideal for a partnership between VIA and the sponsors. VIA certainly has the surplus rolling stock to provide the service, but crew and motive power are probably an issue. There could be worse options than leasing equipment from VIA, then contracting other needs. (Even Amtrak with state support?) That said, the Government of Quebec has done nothing about other pending issues involving cross-border rail (see customs facility, CN track rehab, etc.) and the Government of Canada would be unlikely to see any merit in getting involved.
 
I won't presume to favor a route, but from work that I've done on western routes it seems that there are customers in the rural areas who would use a service in the middle of the night as a means of getting into metropolitan destinations for a daytime appointment or connections. With a daylight train, it takes a two-night stay in the big city to accomplish the same purpose, possibly including big city hotel prices.
Even the old VIA Atlantic Limited on the former CP route through Maine used to pick up a few local passengers in rural towns like Brownville Jct., Mattawamkeag, and McAdam. I think they used one coach, the rest of the train being sealed to avoid having to deal with 2 border crossings in the middle of the night.
 
Even the old VIA Atlantic Limited on the former CP route through Maine used to pick up a few local passengers in rural towns like Brownville Jct., Mattawamkeag, and McAdam. I think they used one coach, the rest of the train being sealed to avoid having to deal with 2 border crossings in the middle of the night.

Actually, as one of those Maine passengers who rode the Atlantic a bunch of times in its final decade, I can attest that we had the use of the entire train once aboard. We just had to board or detrain at the one door that wasn't sealed. So if we had a sleeper room, for example, we had to hike through the train from the one coach door that was allowed to open. See Post #17 in this thread.
 
Actually, as one of those Maine passengers who rode the Atlantic a bunch of times in its final decade, I can attest that we had the use of the entire train once aboard. We just had to board or detrain at the one door that wasn't sealed. So if we had a sleeper room, for example, we had to hike through the train from the one coach door that was allowed to open. See Post #17 in this thread.
Man, talk about easy border controls...
 
IF (and that's a big one) there is sufficient impetus to restore Montreal - Sherbrooke on the Canadian side, particularly with the Government of Quebec onboard, the discussed route might be an ideal for a partnership between VIA and the sponsors. VIA certainly has the surplus rolling stock to provide the service, but crew and motive power are probably an issue. There could be worse options than leasing equipment from VIA, then contracting other needs. (Even Amtrak with state support?) That said, the Government of Quebec has done nothing about other pending issues involving cross-border rail (see customs facility, CN track rehab, etc.) and the Government of Canada would be unlikely to see any merit in getting involved.
Would VIA rolling stock even be allowed in revenue service in the US? Any sleeping cars would have to be Renaissance or Budd cars.
 
Would VIA rolling stock even be allowed in revenue service in the US? Any sleeping cars would have to be Renaissance or Budd cars.
I don't see why not. The Budd cars have operated in the US before -- on the Atlantic until it was discontinued, and also on the Adirondack for a brief time about a decade ago after Hurricane Sandy.
 
The other factor here is the route, meaning Boston to Montreal. A Boston to Toronto overnight service would be far more popular. The excellent regional airline, Porter, operates multiple round trips between Logan and Billy Bishop (Toronto City Airport), daily. Their volume is back to 2019 levels since Canada lifted it's COVID restrictions. In fact I am typing this from Toronto where we treated ourselves to a post Christmas, pre New Years getaway. The flight was full, and ran on time, and had plenty of their regular travelers who make the trip throughout the year.

Toronto is a far more dynamic City than Montreal, it overtook Montreal as Canadas economic capital a long time ago, and is morphing into the Hong Kong of North America.
Not to mention Toronto has a Baseball Team (a great place to watch the Red Sox), and no language issues.

Ken
 
The other factor here is the route, meaning Boston to Montreal. A Boston to Toronto overnight service would be far more popular. The excellent regional airline, Porter, operates multiple round trips between Logan and Billy Bishop (Toronto City Airport), daily. Their volume is back to 2019 levels since Canada lifted it's COVID restrictions. In fact I am typing this from Toronto where we treated ourselves to a post Christmas, pre New Years getaway. The flight was full, and ran on time, and had plenty of their regular travelers who make the trip throughout the year.

Toronto is a far more dynamic City than Montreal, it overtook Montreal as Canadas economic capital a long time ago, and is morphing into the Hong Kong of North America.
Not to mention Toronto has a Baseball Team (a great place to watch the Red Sox), and no language issues.

Ken
How would Boston - Toronto be routed? The routes I can think of would either be a Boston section of the Maple Leaf running via Albany - Buffalo - Niagara Falls, or Boston - Montreal - Toronto via the planned route to Montreal.

Personally I find Montreal a more interesting destination than Toronto. Other than the streetcar system I don't recall anything that attracted me to Toronto. Montreal's French culture to me is an attraction rather than a drawback.
 
Would VIA rolling stock even be allowed in revenue service in the US? Any sleeping cars would have to be Renaissance or Budd cars.
LRC coaches were frequently used on the Toronto-Chicago International. In fact VIA modified two of the ones built specifically for Amtrak to provide lounge service and they occasionally ran in mixed consists with Amfleet. I have pictures somewhere, but the only one I could find quickly online requires licensing. Google "LRC in Chicago" and you'll find it.
 
Personally I find Montreal a more interesting destination than Toronto. Other than the streetcar system I don't recall anything that attracted me to Toronto. Montreal's French culture to me is an attraction rather than a drawback.
Keep in mind that Toronto is the equivalent in Canada of what New York is in the US.
LRC coaches were frequently used on the Toronto-Chicago International. In fact VIA modified two of the ones built specifically for Amtrak to provide lounge service and they occasionally ran in mixed consists with Amfleet. I have pictures somewhere, but the only one I could find quickly online requires licensing. Google "LRC in Chicago" and you'll find it.
I suspect that FRA will not allow the Renns, Everything else should be fine.
 
How would Boston - Toronto be routed? The routes I can think of would either be a Boston section of the Maple Leaf running via Albany - Buffalo - Niagara Falls, or Boston - Montreal - Toronto via the planned route to Montreal.
Those are the only two options I can think of. One iteration of the Niagara Rainbow was a Toronto slumbercoach and coach attached to the LSL, so there is precedent for same-train service to Boston with a change of cars.
 
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